"All the work that Novell has done to make Linux complete on the desktop has helped us to look at standardised offerings," he said.

"This is a real coming of age, where we've had four and a half years' experience deploying Linux on the servers. So now we're ready for the Linux desktop.

"This notebook may be the solution for call centres that use a lot of web-based applications, for example."

Demand for such a product would be most likely to come from organisations with legacy Unix-based IT environments, according to Gary Barnett, research director at analyst firm Ovum.

"We reckon that Linux is displacing Unix-based systems like HP-UX, Solaris and AIX at a rate that is twice or three times as fast as Windows," he said.

"If you already have in-house administration skills in these operating systems then there will be a relatively low amount of retraining involved in moving to Linux compared to the same move from Windows."

Barnett added that the advent of a standard Linux desktop meant the operating system had moved away from its roots among open source devotees and developers to become a viable enterprise-scale alternative.

The analyst suggested that the launch of the nx5000 indicates that "2004 is the year in which the suits have taken over Linux from the sandal wearers".